Crossroads

Chapter 8

As the two teams returned to the Avengers tower the next morning, Tony was saying to Phil as he held a young asleep boy on his shoulder, "I mean I can understand HYDRA wanting to take over the world. They believe they can do better than we've been doing and thinking of some of the dumb shit that has happened in the past, I can't say we all have the best track record. But what they were doing in that lab was just pure evil on a whole other level."

"That is some of the things that we have been dealing with on some of our missions. That is why we can not let them get an advantage anywhere and we must be ready at a moments notice to act. That is why I was glad when you offered me a position in your security organization. I believe that we can really get some real progress going now that we have some solid support." Phil said as the elevator stopped on the floors set aside for the new SHIELD that Tony had started.

"After what we saw in that lab, you have every bit of backing I can provide to help you do what needs what to be done. All you have to do is ask and its yours. If I can't buy it, I'll build it or get it. Any and everything." Tony offered with every bit of conviction he had as he laid the young boy down on a couch.

"I saw a lot of things I never wanted to see in World War II, things never I thought another human being would be capable of doing to another. But Tony's right, what HYDRA was doing down there was evil. It just confirms my resolve to stop them." added in Steve as he, Clint, Natasha, May and Sam followed them further in the floor.

"Natasha and me both agree with Cap about the need to stop HYDRA. Phil as soon as you have a location to check out let us know. That has to never happen again or if happening, needs to be stopped as soon as possible." Clint said as he paced the room, too agitated to sit still. Natasha was sitting in a chair at the end of the table radiating a aura of deadliness so dark that the only person beside Clint that would go near her was May, who had such a blank expression on her face that Phil, who knew her so well, was worried that she was about a hair's breath from killing someone. Luckily the HYDRA agents that they had captured were safely locked away in cells several floors down.

"I'm just glad we were able to save as many as we did. That is what I'm going to focus on at the moment. That we did what we could to save them." Sam said to the room, not talking to anyone particular, still trying to comprehend what the others saw in the past hours when they headed out the night before.

14 hours earlier

"Ok, Tony and Sam when you two get suited up, head out to scout out those robots. Get us some info so we can plan out how to proceed with the fight. Bruce you stay here unless we need you. I don't want to bring in the Hulk unless it goes FUBAR out there. Clint, you head to the roof and make sure that we're not being distracted and snuck up on from another direction. The rest of us will stand by until we have a better idea of what we're dealing with." Steve ordered as he arrived back on the communal floor after retrieving his suit.

"Already in the air, Cap. I'm flying high and relaying data back to as we speak. Stark is approaching from the opposite direction and getting a little closer since he has armor, not just wings." reported Sam as he flew above the group of robots. If he didn't know better, it would almost seem like the robots looked like crude versions of the Avengers.

"I've scanned the robots and except for some simple thrusters in their feet that makes them fly, I can't find any reason that these robots should even be standing. From the scans J.A.R.V.I.S. has done from the suit, they shouldn't be standing. Hell some of the parts aren't even attached by anything at all." Tony added as he hovered a hundred yards off from the line of strange robots.

"Stay back for now. We'll get FitzSimmons and Bruce to see if they see anything that you might have missed. Clint report in. Anything?" Steve asked. As Clint replied with an all clear, he tried to figure out why someone would attack them by throwing a robot at them like a missile and then stand down.